


Don't Feel Like Dancin'

by paperclipbitch



Category: Britannia High
Genre: M/M, Post canon, forever fandom and forever ship, you guys will never understand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-17
Updated: 2014-09-17
Packaged: 2018-02-17 19:47:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2321225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperclipbitch/pseuds/paperclipbitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>BB and Ronnie are touring Europe. Jez is trying to rebuild bridges with his father. And no one knows where Lola is...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Feel Like Dancin'

**Author's Note:**

> [Originally posted on LJ in September 2009] A ridiculous fic that I couldn't NOT write, with lots of handwavy geography even though I've actually been interrailing and everything.

_Cities come and cities go  
Just like the old empires  
When all you do is change your clothes  
And call that versatile._  
\- Scissor Sisters

{ **Rome** }

Jez picks up the phone on the fifth ring.

“Hello?”

BB decides not to think too hard about the way that one word makes his mouth curl into a smile.

“Hey man.”

“BB!” Jez’s voice immediately brightens. “Do you have any idea how much this call is costing you?”

“Nothing,” BB responds cheerfully. “I called the operator and charged it to your supermansion.”

“Good idea,” Jez says, which is kind of a relief; BB isn’t sure whether he’s allowed to abuse Jez’s regained fortune yet. “Are you having the most fabulous time ever? Where are you?”

“Rome,” BB replies, “and yeah, it’s awesome. The place is, like, one giant museum, only not in a boring way.”

“Philistine,” Jez says affectionately. “Is Ronnie having fun?”

“The girl is having _so much fun_ ,” BB tells him, laughing, though there’s a trace of exhaustion in his tone. “She never winds down, it’s _unbelievable_. And impressive.”

Jez laughs. “Is she driving you mad?” he asks after a moment, almost tentatively.

“No,” BB tells him quickly. “Which is completely _weird_.”

“Maybe you’re _madly_ in love with her,” Jez suggests, gleeful teasing in his voice. “You’ll come back from this trip engaged or something.”

“ _Dude_ ,” BB says. “Don’t make this all wrong and strange.”

“Sorry.” Jez pauses for a moment. “I’m glad you guys are having fun. Have you mailed me presents yet?”

“What makes you think you’re getting presents?” BB asks him. “You’re the one who _ditched me_.”

“I’m wonderful and charming,” Jez responds. “I deserve pretty Italian presents.”

“Jez, you can _buy Italy_ ,” BB points out. 

“…Not quite.”

“All right. But you could buy, like, the Vatican or something.”

“Yes,” Jez agrees, “I was _just thinking_ about asking for that for my eighteenth birthday. I’m going to kick out the Pope and have everyone gather in St Peter’s square to watch me sing instead. You can be my backing dancer.”

“I’ve always admired your lack of ambition,” BB says gravely. “It’s definitely your best quality, mate.”

He suddenly _really really_ misses doing the radio show; two months without sitting in a tiny booth talking crap with Jez seems like a horribly long time.

“I miss you,” Jez tells him, calm and practical and not _too_ sentimental. “Like, everyone else has come to see me and you’re _miles_ away. So you totally have to buy me something nice and post it.”

BB rolls his eyes, and doesn’t tell Jez that he and Ronnie posted his present this morning. “So how are things at the supermansion?”

“Super. Mansion-y.”

“I’ll hang up,” BB threatens.

“Fine. Things are going…good. Dad told one of his friends that we’re _not_ going into business together at a dinner party a couple of days ago. You’d think he was confessing I was a _murderer_ or something. I mean, when I came out to him he was cheerfully ringing up _everyone_ and telling them to stop asking when I was going to get a girlfriend, but apparently singing is just _too much_. But it’s progress, so what the hell.”

“That’s awesome,” BB says, genuinely pleased for Jez. 

“And he says hi. I think he might _still_ think we’re dating, I’ll work on that.”

BB discovers that he can’t think of a single thing to say in reply to that, and Jez must realise because he quickly adds: “Danny’s been staying here since Tuesday. He’s all mope-y ‘cause he’s not getting laid.”

“Better watch yourself, mate,” BB warns, grinning.

“He wouldn’t respect me in the morning,” Jez responds, a little too serious for BB’s liking. Like he’s _actually considering_ the possibility of sleeping with Danny.

“Have you heard from Lola?” he asks swiftly.

If Jez notices the hasty change in subject he doesn’t mention it. “…No.”

“Do you think she’s ok?”

“She’s Lola,” Jez says. “She’s probably fine. And Stefan is hardly an evil rapist-slash-murderer, is he?”

“Thanks mate, I feel _so_ much better now,” BB tells him.

Jez laughs. “Seriously, I’m sure Lola is _absolutely fine_. But I’ve got to get going, BB, Danny and I are taking dad to a matinee of _Les Mis_.”

“Why?” 

“I’m starting slowly,” Jez explains. “Don’t think dad’s ready for _Avenue Q_ yet…”

BB has a mental image of Jez’s dad sitting through _You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want (When You’re Making Love)_ and attempts not to burst into hysterical laughter.

“Have fun,” he says. “I’ll… speak to you at some point.”

“Keep having a brilliant time,” Jez replies, “give my love to Ronnie. And don’t forget my present!”

“Spoiled brat,” BB sniggers, and puts the phone down.

{ **Amsterdam** }

_Hi Jez!_

_I hope you’re having a totally great summer ~~and are having fun counting your gigantic piles of money~~ (sorry, BB says I shouldn’t have put that in but you know I’m only joking and anyway he’s meant to be going to have a shower so we can go out tonight so he should GO AND DO THAT AND STOP READING OVER MY SHOULDER)._

_There we go._

_BB is being SO OVERPROTECTIVE, I wanted to buy space cakes and he was all “do you really think getting stoned in a foreign country is a good idea?” Like, whatever. BUT we are having loads of fun and travelling is COMPLETELY BRILLIANT, you should so have come too!!! I get that your dad is important though and he was super nice that time we went to visit you ~~except for the bit where he disowned you~~ so I bet you are having an awesome time. _

_And if your dad wants to put me through night school so I can be the Queen Of Backstage then- just kidding!!! :)_

_Hope you got the present we sent you from Rome and that you liked it, it took us ages to find tacky underwear with the Pope on! We were going to get you some clogs here but they’re really heavy and the postage would cost way too much so you’ll just have to have imaginary clogs instead… I will totally find you something fabulous, promise! BB said that you can buy the Red Light District if you decide you don’t want the Vatican, I was like “WTF?!” but he said you’d know what he meant._

_Have you heard anything from Lola yet? We tried to call her when we were in Venice but her phone is STILL OFF! Maybe you could like fly out to Australia if you have time? Does your dad own a plane because that would be REALLY REALLY COOL._

_Real Dutch pancakes are MADE OF AWESOME, I am totally going to learn how to make them and then we can have them at BH next term. Me and BB are like living on pancakes, they are the best, but we’re going to get totally fat lol. I would send you some but I don’t think they’d travel well, you should definitely have pancakes soon!!!_

_Ooh, BB is back so I will have to go, we are going to have the best night EVER. And he says my dancing is way better than my singing so I won’t be letting you down ;) Plus I have the most fabulous new shoes, I got them shopping today, I look totally awesome. I will just see if BB wants me to say anything…_

_Ok, he is such a total boy and won’t say he misses you but I KNOW HE DOES, we will totally call you soon and bill it to the supermansion, you don’t mind do you? ~~He wants to know if Danny is still staying with you~~ wait, he says he doesn’t and not to write that, don’t tell him I already did! BB wants to know if you’ve taken your dad to see Avenue Q yet. I totally don’t think you should, Jez, it would freak him out!!!_

_Have an awesome time and I’ll write again soon._

_Miss you loads, plus lots and lots and lots of love,_

_Ronnie  
xxxx_

{ **Madrid** }

BB and Ronnie have been in Madrid for all of about twenty minutes, and have already decided that it is way too hot. Spain in August is possibly not the most sensible of places to be, but they’re here now. 

His mobile phone starts ringing; BB digs it out of his pocket, while Ronnie gives him a curious look, rooting through her bag for her sunglasses. He’s got used to the helpful texts whenever they cross country borders informing him that hey, just in case he _hasn’t noticed_ , he’s gone into another country and therefore another phone network have taken over for him, but he’s never had a call before.

“Hello?” he asks warily.

“BB!” It’s Jez, sounding freakily excited. “Where are you, man? Have you made it to Spain yet, or are you still in the Land Of Toblerones?”

BB and Ronnie last called the supermansion a week and a half ago; since then no one’s been accepting the collect calls there. Since Jez has no reason to be pissed at him, BB’s assumed the last few times Mr Tyler has been talking to the operator and refusing to accept the charges.

“Madrid,” BB replies. Ronnie finally finds her oversized sunglasses in the bottom of her bag, and raises an interested eyebrow at BB before sliding them on. BB mouths _it’s Jez_ at her, and she gives an excited squeak.

“ _Awesome_ ,” Jez says, and then something occurs to him. “Did you send me a Toblerone before you left Basel?”

“We sent three like you asked,” BB replies. “Not that you deserve them, since you’ve been _blanking_ us and everything. You’ll get too fat for all your skinny jeans.”

“I haven’t been blanking you!” Jez protests. “And the fat comment was uncalled for, you’re so mean.”

“You haven’t picked up the phone in ages,” BB points out. “That’s totally blanking, mate.”

“It is!” Ronnie calls.

“All right, I’ll make it up to you two,” Jez promises. “Lunch on me and my dad?”

BB frowns. “What, are you going to Western Union us some money or something? Don’t sweat it mate, we’re not broke yet.”

Jez laughs. “You’ll see,” he says. “Can I speak to Ronnie for a minute?”

BB obediently passes the phone over and watches Ronnie get amusingly giggly. She’s perfectly ok with the fact _Jez is never going to be interested in her_ , but maintains that she’s still allowed to have a crush on his awesomeness in spite of that. He digs a map out of his rucksack so he can work out where their hotel is, tuning out Ronnie talking at a mile a minute. The girl is great, but she seriously _never stops talking_. It’s fascinating. He becomes aware that silence has fallen; Ronnie taps him on the shoulder and hands him back his phone.

“He say what the hell he was going on about?” BB asks, shoving it back in his pocket.

“No,” Ronnie replies, shrugging. “Do you know where we’re going yet?” 

They manage to find their way to their hotel and change their clothes; mercifully there’s air-conditioning, and BB decides that he’ll just worry about Jez’s cryptic randomness later. He’s arranged to meet Ronnie downstairs when they’ve both got something a little less travel-crumpled on, and she’s waiting for him, wearing a pair of shorts and her sunglasses again. She smiles when she sees him, and then something seems to catch her eye over his shoulder because she pushes her sunglasses on top of her head, mouth dropping open.

“Oh my _God_!” Ronnie squeaks, running past BB at someone who’s just walked through the doors, throwing herself into their arms. A tall, skinny boy, with a golden tan and practically white-blonde hair, who picks Ronnie up and spins her around, making her shriek. And BB feels his mouth curling into an utterly embarrassingly broad grin, because it’s _Jez_. It’s Jez, and he’s _here_.

Jez puts Ronnie down and smiles almost shyly at BB, who wastes no time in pulling his best friend into a bone-cracking hug. Jez hugs him back just as tightly, and BB can feel him laughing; he can’t seem to shift the stupid grin from his own face. Finally, he lets himself acknowledge the fact he has missed Jez to a ridiculous degree that no one can ever know about. 

He’s aware that the hug has gone on just a _little_ too long, and Jez is the first to let go.

“Why are you in Madrid?” Ronnie asks the minute they step apart.

“Dad had a whim about ten days ago,” Jez shrugs. “Possibly he just didn’t want to go and see any more musicals. So we came here. I’d have told you when you last called, but I didn’t know.”

Jez’s eyes look bluer than ever against the tan, and his hair is bleached from the sun. He’s wearing one of the tight t-shirts he normally doesn’t wear outside of the dance studio, and a pair of sunglasses are perched on top of his head. He looks relaxed and happy.

“You should have told us you were here,” Ronnie says, smacking him on the arm.

“Thought I’d let it be a surprise,” Jez replies. “Gonna come for lunch with us then?”

He leads Ronnie and BB onto the street, where his dad is leaning against a gigantic silver SUV, also looking relaxed and cheerful and tanned.

“BB,” he says, inclining his head with a smile, “And… Ronnie, wasn’t it?”

BB grabs Ronnie’s elbow on one side and Jez grabs her on the other side and together they manage to stop her from curtseying. 

“Hi, Mr Tyler,” BB says. “Good to see you again.”

They pile into the back of the car, Jez squished between BB and Ronnie, and they keep up a cheerful conversation about their travels, while BB remains horribly aware of where his thigh is crushed against Jez’s.

“So how much longer are you in Spain for?” Ronnie asks.

“Two days,” Mr Tyler tells her. “I’ve got to get back to work, unfortunately.”

“You going back too?” BB asks quietly, raising an eyebrow at Jez. The other boy nods, and BB does his best not to be disappointed.

Mr Tyler parks the car and they all scramble out. 

“They do the _best_ paella here,” Jez says brightly. “And I’m _not_ getting fat, you mean bastard.”

BB lets his eyes skim over Jez’s skinny form and pretends that it’s purely scientific. “All right,” he concedes, “you’re not getting fat.”

Jez gives him a toothy grin, and then pushes him and Ronnie towards the restaurant.

{ **Berlin** }

Ronnie is very insistent that they have _kaffe und kuchen_ , so they’re sharing some extremely nice cake when she starts giving BB a very calculating look. They left Madrid four days ago and in two days’ time they’re going to Paris, the last city on their list before they go back to England.

“What’s up?” BB asks, because he’s not used to Ronnie looking _this_ serious. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” Ronnie replies cheerfully, pouring herself some more coffee. “Has anyone heard from Lola yet?”

It’s the eternal question; Jez asked it when BB rang him to check he’d made it safely back to the supermansion, Lauren asked it when she called them in Prague, BB emailed it to Claudine in a cybercafe last night. No one knows anything; just that Lola left with Stefan and hasn’t texted anyone, hasn’t emailed anyone, hasn’t called anyone. Her hotmail account must be crammed with _LOLA WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU CALL US_ messages by now; not that any of it’s paying off.

“Nice try at distracting me,” BB tells her. “Really, what’s up?”

Ronnie shakes her head. “Nothing’s up with _me_ ,” she says, all significantly, like he’s meant to know what she’s getting at.

“…Still drawing a blank,” BB shrugs.

Ronnie sighs, almost exasperatedly. “Look,” she snaps, “you do _know_ you’re in love with Jez, right?” 

BB drops his fork and stares at her, trying to find something to say but stuck utterly speechless.

“…Oh,” Ronnie says. “Oh, you don’t, do you?”

BB continues to stare blankly at her in lieu of an answer.

“It’s _obvious_ ,” Ronnie tells him gently. “Obvious to everyone but Jez, and, apparently, you. That’s why his dad still thinks you’re dating. And really, it’s _very_ sweet. You guys will be such a great couple.”

BB fumbles up his voice, and manages to say: “…Um.” It’s not eloquent, but it’s a start.

“You hugged for about a _million hours_ when we went to the airport with Jez and his dad,” Ronnie adds. “I thought one of you was going to catch on and kiss the other, but you didn’t.”

BB swallows. “I don’t want to kiss Jez!” he protests, the quick and easy denial leaping to his mouth.

“Yes, you do,” Ronnie says pragmatically. She takes a sip of coffee and looks expectantly at BB, who can’t work out what she wants him to say. There’s a couple on the next table over who seem to be listening in with far too much interest, and BB reflects that sometimes it’s really _depressing_ that everyone in Europe speaks English.

“What do you want me to- what should I do?” he manages eventually.

Ronnie takes a mouthful of cake and takes a moment to lick cream off her mouth before responding. “Well, ordinarily I’d send you back to England for a lovely mushy reunion,” she says, “but I really want to see Paris. So you’ll have to do it when we get back.”

BB frowns. “You’ve thought this through,” he says, bemused. “You’ve actually thought this whole conversation through. And, like, planned it.” 

Ronnie shrugs. “Look, I think Jez is extremely pretty but I’m really just getting away with as much as I can for my own amusement,” she says. “He deserves to be happy and so do you.”

BB starts on his cake again, for lack of anything else to do. He’s been travelling with Ronnie for the last two months, and she really is a force of nature; she may not be a singer or a dancer or an actress but there’s something amazing about her, vivid and bright and awesome.

“You know,” Ronnie says after a while, “you’re calling the supermansion tonight. You could always have a heartfelt declaration of love over the phone.”

“I’m not standing in a phonebox telling Jez… _whatever_ ,” BB protests. 

Ronnie gives him a look, narrowing her eyes. “You’d better tell him something more interesting than _whatever_ ,” she says firmly.

BB says nothing, drinking more coffee. A moment later, and his phone beeps. He pulls it out of his pocket, half-dreading the message, and is aware of a strange disappointment when he realises that the text is actually from Claudine.

**Lola not dead. x**

He texts back, demanding more details, and his phone rings a moment later.

“She’s back in London,” Claudine explains. “ _Without_ Stefan.”

BB relays this to Ronnie, whose eyebrows attempt to escape into her fringe.

“What happened?” he asks.

“No idea,” Claudine tells him. “But Lauren and I are going to go and see her tomorrow, so maybe she’ll tell us something.”

“Use some of those acting skills you keep telling us you have,” BB advises. “Be sympathetic.”

“Ha _ha_ ,” Claudine responds. “That’s just what Jez said.”

BB ignores the interesting lurch in his stomach when she says Jez’s name, because he doesn’t know exactly what it means.

“He not going with you?” he asks.

“Jez hasn’t left his room for, like, days,” Claudine responds, in her calm and callous way of delivering all news, good and bad. 

“Why?” he asks quickly.

“ _I_ don’t know,” she says. “But Danny’s meant to be going to the supermansion tomorrow, so I’m sure it’s all fine. Got to go, hope you’re having a fabulous time. Kisses!”

Claudine is a force of nature too, BB reflects.

“Is Lola ok?” Ronnie asks.

BB shakes his head. “Maybe?”

He doesn’t tell her about Jez; he’s not sure why. And that night, although he promised he’d call England, he chickens out, and doesn’t.

{ **Paris** }

The traffic in Paris is utterly mad, and on their first day in the city BB saves Ronnie’s life at least six times before he decides to stop counting and just hold her arm any time they get anywhere near a road. It seems strange to think that in a few more days they’ll be back in London, preparing for a new school term; this summer has been so brilliant that he doesn’t want to return, regardless of what he’s going back to.

“Shall we just live here, Ronnie?” he suggests; they’re sat on a bench halfway up the _Champs Elysees_ , watching people hurry past.

Ronnie laughs. “The first time anyone’s ever asked me to move anywhere with them, and it’s coming from a gay guy crazy about someone else. _Just_ my _luck_.”

It’s actually made the whole thing a lot easier, being stuck in Europe with Ronnie; she’s calmly acknowledged and accepted things that BB can’t quite get his head around, and somehow made all of this ok. He totally feels guilty about leaving the room to laugh when she was singing last term.

Ronnie’s phone bleeps and she pulls it from her pocket, glancing down at a text message and smiling.

“Just my mum checking on me,” she says. “Want to get back to the hotel?”

They get back to their cheap hotel, just by the _Gard Du Nord_ , and head upstairs. Their rooms are next door to each other, and BB hears Ronnie give a happy shriek as she walks into hers. Confused, he quickly leaves his own room and bangs on Ronnie’s door. She opens it, grinning, and BB glances over her shoulder to see Jez sprawled out on her bed.

“Can’t get rid of me,” Jez says cheerfully as BB steps inside, the hotel room door slamming behind him. “Thought I’d come join you for the last few days of your trip, if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind,” BB says, rolling his eyes. “Leave immediately.”

Jez smirks, sitting up on the bed. “Am I taking you both out for dinner?”

“You’re really excited to have all your money back, aren’t you?” BB observes, without accusation. 

“I leeched dinner off you guys for ages,” Jez points out, “it’s only fair I repay you.”

“I’m sold,” Ronnie says brightly. “Everyone out so I can change.”

BB obediently takes Jez next door, where they sit on his double bed in a silence bordering on awkward. They’ve never had an awkward silence between them before, never, and it’s strange.

“So you finally left your room,” BB says eventually.

A blush touches the tips of Jez’s cheekbones; his tan is still ridiculously perfect. “I was just annoying my dad for lying about me at a dinner party,” he shrugs. “It just got a little blown out of proportion.”

“Are you still coming back to BH?” BB asks. “Your dad isn’t going to suddenly take you hostage is he?”

“Have the SWAT teams on standby,” Jez suggests. “It could get ugly.” He grins, sweet and sudden. “No, I think it’ll be ok.”

“Good.” BB smiles. “‘Cause I’m not doing the whole damn radio show by myself.”

“You could pretend to be me,” Jez offers. “It would be very creative.”

BB smirks, shoving his shoulder. “Just come back to school.”

Ronnie knocks on their door at that point, and Jez takes them out to a restaurant for huge amounts of mussels and chips, where they mostly talk about Lola and Stefan because apparently Claudine and Lauren couldn’t get the whole story out of her and neither could Jez.

“Lola’s mum practically has her under house arrest,” Jez explains. “She’s understandably pretty freaked out about the whole thing.”

“Hey, you can tell your dad that at least you didn’t run off to another country with your dance teacher,” BB says. “That should totally score some positive points for Britannia High.”

Jez gives him an incredulous look, and then starts laughing.

“Not sure my dad will see it that way,” he says at last.

There’s a general arguing over rooms when they get back to the hotel; Jez wants to share with Ronnie, who has two single beds in her room, while BB is fairly insistent that Jez shares with him because he’s a _guy_ and Ronnie _isn’t_.

“I’m not particularly interested in ravishing her,” Jez points out. “Plus you only have a double bed.”

Ronnie steps in at this point, and proves that she is utterly _impossible_ to say ‘no’ to; which is how BB finds himself staring fixedly at the ceiling while listening to Jez brush his teeth. He suspects this is Ronnie’s idea of matchmaking, but he kind of feels more like she’s thrown him in at the deep end and he’s flailing about in a way destined to end in drowning.

“It’s ok,” Jez tells him, “I don’t snore.”

He’s wearing a t-shirt and boxer shorts, and every inch of him is perfectly tanned; it makes BB wonder exactly what Jez was wearing while getting his tan, and then realises that that really isn’t an _ok_ thing to be thinking about when he’s about to have to share a bed with the guy.

“If you’re really not all right with this,” Jez offers, “I can probably still go and harass Ronnie into letting me have the other bed.”

“It’s fine,” BB insists, reaching over to turn out the light.

Once they’re in the dark, he becomes hyper aware of just where Jez is in relation to him, of the other boy’s breathing, and of how he isn’t going to be able to sleep at any point tonight.

“I’ve missed you, you know?” Jez says after a moment. “I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that at any point, but I really have.”

They’ve all lived in such close proximity to each other that suddenly being apart for a couple of months is weird enough anyway, but BB knows exactly what Jez means.

“I’ve missed you too,” he says after a moment, and they both leave it at that.

BB just _knows_ that Ronnie is going to glare at him in disappointment over breakfast in the morning.

{ **London** }

“You shared a bed with him for _four days_ and at no point let slip that you don’t feel entirely platonic towards him!” Ronnie’s voice is a furious whisper, while Jez has gone to top-up his Oyster card. “And we were in _Paris_ , the city of love and everything! Could you be any more stupid?”

“Don’t,” BB says simply, wrapping her into a hug. They’re finally back at King’s Cross, term starts in two days, and it’s sort of nice to be somewhere where all the signs are actually in English. “Ronnie… this summer has been _fantastic_. Thank you.”

Ronnie grins and hugs him back, before kissing his cheek and going off to say goodbye to Jez. They’ll see each other again in forty-eight hours, but it still feels weird to be parting after so much time together.

“Your dad going to buy you back your Knightsbridge flat?” BB asks when he and Jez are on the tube to Waterloo.

Jez shrugs. “I don’t think I need to live behind Harrods to be happy,” he says. “I think I’ll probably keep my tiny crappy flat and be done with it.”

BB smiles. “You heading back to the supermansion?” he asks.

Jez shakes his head. “I… didn’t technically get permission to run off to Paris,” he says, looking sheepish. “I think I’ll just stay in London until dad calms down a little bit.”

It seems that Jez is destined to build bridges with his father and promptly burn them afterwards, but BB is never going to point this out so he just smiles instead. Really, he just thanks God that tube trains are so loud that it’s impossible to have a conversation anyway. He knows that at some point he’s going to have to sort all this out – if only because Ronnie will glare at him for the next _ever_ if he doesn’t – but he can’t think of anything to say that isn’t ridiculous and lame.

“See you Monday,” Jez says when it comes to his stop, clapping a hand against BB’s shoulder and disappearing off the train before BB can say anything in reply. _See you Monday_. BB feels a smile curl across his mouth and has to swallow it down; he’s glad to be home, glad to be back, in spite of it all.

He gets home to his flat and walks through the rooms; after two months away it feels both familiar and strange, but he thinks he’ll finally be able to settle here, settle without Julius. It was touch and go for a while, but his home is finally starting to feel like an actual home. BB dumps his bag in the corner of the living room, deciding to leave unpacking until... later, anyway. He finds a forgotten can of coke in the corner of his fridge and slumps down on the sofa to channel hop, but there’s a niggling feeling in the back of his mind, a twist of anticipation writhing in his stomach. 

BB pointedly ignores it for about three-quarters of an hour and it doesn’t go away. “Damn,” he mutters at last, going to find his jacket.

It’s half midnight and part of BB thinks Jez is just going to refuse to answer the door, but some things are important, some things are worth persevering and missing sleep for. Jez answers the door eventually, hair mussed and eyes very blue. He opens his mouth as though to ask, and then seems to notice the look on BB’s face and closes it again.

“I missed you,” BB says, the words falling out of his mouth, “a lot.” He takes a breath because he’s not saying it right. “I still miss you.”

Jez’s eyes go very wide and before BB can fumble up any more words, he steps forward, curling one hand in BB’s t-shirt, his other hand sliding over the back of BB’s neck. BB catches a glimpse of Jez’s blinding grin before the other boy leans in, pressing their mouths together. 

In the minute before his brain turns to mush, BB remembers that he called Jez from almost every city they visited, and Jez followed him both to Spain _and_ France, and that maybe they should have managed to sort this out earlier. Then Jez pulls him into the flat by his t-shirt, laughing against his mouth, and BB really stops thinking altogether.


End file.
